1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to smoking accessories, and more particularly to a clip for holding together a cigarette lighter and a pack of cigarettes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cigarettes are generally sold in packages of twenty, or larger cartons containing a number of such packages. Cigarette packs have been standardized at a small number of sizes corresponding to standard product lengths. To accommodate various length cigarettes, the packs have different heights, but the width and depth are essentially the same for all sizes.
Some type of heat source must be used to light the cigarette, and the best sources are easily portable. Pocket lighters or matches are the most common portable forms for lighting cigarettes. Other, less portable devices, such as electric lighters in automobiles, are also common.
The disposable butane lighter is widely used. Different models are available, with a height of approximately three inches and a generally oval or rectangular cross-section. These lighters are very inexpensive, so that losing one causes no financial hardship to the smoker.
However, losing a lighter causes an extreme convenience hardship to the smoker. It becomes necessary to borrow a lighter or other heat source from someone else. Because these articles are so easily misplaced, it is not an uncommon sight to see several smokers at the same time trying to find someone with a lighter.
Numerous attempts have been made in the past to provide acceptable devices for attaching lighters to cigarette packs. Invariably, these devices have not faired well in the marketplace, generally because of expense or convenience issues. For example, U.S. Pat. No. D261,775 teaches a lighter clip which grips a typical disposable lighter, and has a flexible clip for insertion into a protective sleeve over a cigarette pack. Although this clip grips the lighter securely, it suffers from the problem that the lighter and clip can too easily become detached from the cigarette pack. Numerous designs shown and described in the prior art suffer from this problem, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,584, which teaches a similar device which clips to the underside of the pack.
Another approach is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,729, which teaches the use of a five-sided rectangular box having a divider near one end. A smaller compartment defined in the box is used for holding a lighter, while the larger compartment is sized to accept a cigarette pack. Such devices have not become widely used in the marketplace, presumably for reasons of cost. Another class of devices generally includes the cigarette lighter as an integral part of the clip design, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. D260,689. Such devices have presumably not become popular for reasons of cost and complexity, and are not usable with the ubiquitous disposable lighter.
It would be desirable to provide an improved lighter clip for cigarette packs which overcomes the limitations of the prior art. It would further be desirable for such a product to be inexpensive, and convenient to use. It would also be desirable for such a product to be capable of containing advertising so as to be suitable for use as a promotional product.
In accordance with the present invention, a lighter clip for use with a cigarette pack is inexpensively manufactured from a material such as injection-molded plastic. A generally three-sided clip is sized and shaped to fit across the width and depth of the pack, and contains an arcuate portion, suitable for holding a lighter, on one end. The clip is manufactured from a resilient material, and shaped in a manner which causes it to be lightly biased against the pack, thereby holding the clip in position. The two longer clip arms are sized to have a large enough surface area to be suitable for promotional use, and the clip arms and ends are shaped to securely grip the cigarette pack.